Mitt Romney's high-end fundraiser riles critics

CAMPAIGN 2012

Carla Marinucci

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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Story is about the complete remodel of the famed Carolands mansion. Former Chronicle
staffer Judy Richter will be there, doing a preliminary interview with the homeownwers,
Ann Johnson and her husband, and either they or Meg Starr, the estate manager, will
take you both on a tour of the house; then Judy will finish her interview after you've finished photographing. We will need a good exterior shot as well as spectacular interiors, portraits of the homeowners in situ, and any details that they are particularly excited about. less

Story is about the complete remodel of the famed Carolands mansion. Former Chronicle
staffer Judy Richter will be there, doing a preliminary interview with the homeownwers,
Ann Johnson and her husband, and ... more

Photo: Eric Luse, SFC

Image 3 of 4

Story is about the complete remodel of the famed Carolands mansion. Former Chronicle
staffer Judy Richter will be there, doing a preliminary interview with the homeownwers,
Ann Johnson and her husband, and either they or Meg Starr, the estate manager, will
take you both on a tour of the house; then Judy will finish her interview after you've finished photographing. We will need a good exterior shot as well as spectacular interiors, portraits of the homeowners in situ, and any details that they are particularly excited about. less

Story is about the complete remodel of the famed Carolands mansion. Former Chronicle
staffer Judy Richter will be there, doing a preliminary interview with the homeownwers,
Ann Johnson and her husband, and ... more

Photo: Eric Luse, SFC

Image 4 of 4

SAN DIEGO, CA - MAY 28: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets a supporter during a Memorial Day Tribute at Veterans Museum & Memorial Center on May 28, 2012 in San Diego, California. U.S. Sen John McCain (R-AZ) joined Mitt Romney at a Memorial Day tribute before heading to Colorado. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** less

SAN DIEGO, CA - MAY 28: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets a supporter during a Memorial Day Tribute at Veterans Museum & Memorial Center on May 28, 2012 in San ... more

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Mitt Romney's high-end fundraiser riles critics

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With Democrats portraying Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire and "vulture capitalist" from his years at Bain Capital, the GOP presidential candidate may be handing opponents some ammunition when he holds a fundraiser Wednesday at a 65,000-square-foot estate that's opulent, even for upscale Hillsborough.

The exclusive location of the 95-room Carolands Chateau, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and tickets running as high as $50,000 apiece aren't the only reasons Romney's political foes are stirred up.

The former Massachusetts governor's fundraiser is co-chaired by billionaire Meg Whitman, his former employee at Bain Capital and the 2010 Republican candidate for California governor who promised to produce 2 million new jobs if elected. Now Whitman is CEO of Hewlett-Packard, which said last week it plans to lay off 25,000 workers.

"Democrats should be hitting this hard," she said, to drive home their point "that running a company and running a country are absolutely almost antithetical to each other."

Defending Whitman

Romney, in an interview in the current edition of National Review Online, defends Whitman, a national finance co-chair of his campaign. He argues that Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who beat the former eBay CEO in a landslide, is taking the state "in the wrong direction."

"I wish Californians had elected Meg Whitman. She would have been more successful and explained to Californians the need to cut back on spending and eliminate unnecessary programs," Romney said in the interview. "There are other states that have very different records. I think it's interesting that the state with the highest - or among the highest - tax rates in the nation also has the worst or near the worst deficit."

Wade Randlett, a leading Obama fundraiser, calls Romney's Hillsborough event a "Richie Rich"-style blowout. He said the choice of venue for Wednesday's fundraiser - and endorsers who include Whitman and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina - underscore the Republican candidate's biggest weaknesses as he hits California.

"What Romney's business was, and what he's promoting, is the Gordon Gekko capitalism of the 1980s," Randlett said, referring to the fictional villain in the 1987 film "Wall Street." "It's 'I make money. I'm here to dismember companies.' "

Democrats are also raising eyebrows at a "ladies luncheon" that Ann Romney, the candidate's wife, is hosting Wednesday at the Palo Alto home of Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers and his wife, Elaine.

But Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the San Francisco Republican Party, said Ann Romney is a "great strength" for her husband's campaign, adding that the luncheon will be a well-deserved toast to Republican women who have been the "worker bees" of GOP grassroots campaigning in California.

"If Obama thinks that's retro - well, that's how politics gets done," she said. The Carolands has been a favorite site of charity and political events for GOP groups because of its stunning backdrop, Dhillon added.

GOP strategist Rob Stutzman, who advised the Romney campaign in 2008, said Obama is hardly averse to lavish places and famous faces to pump up his own campaign fundraisers. Last month, the president hobnobbed with Hollywood royalty at the estate of George Clooney and last week visited the Atherton estate of philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir Doug Goldman for a $38,500-per-person dinner. Next month, his campaign plans a star-studded LGBT gala in Los Angeles starring entertainer Pink, in addition to an A-list Sarah Jessica Parker-hosted New York fundraiser.

Free public rally

Romney's campaign argued this week that the GOP candidate has also managed something that Obama has failed to schedule in 15 trips to the state: He held a free public rally Monday in San Diego.

Republicans also say Democrats are applying a double standard to Whitman and her efforts to lead HP. Bill Whalen, a Hoover Institution fellow, said that as political operatives attack Whitman, businesspeople "will tell you she is trying to move the company forward and make difficult decisions."

Added a Romney insider who spoke on condition of anonymity: "Are they going to try and attack a private company that's trying to save more jobs?"

"Do they really want to go there? With Solyndra?" said the person, referring to the Fremont solar firm that went bankrupt after it received a $535 million federal loan guarantee.

Obama, during his fundraiser last week in Redwood City, attacked Romney's record in business.

"Gov. Romney ... is saying, 'My 25 years in the private sector gives me a special understanding of how our economy works,' " the president told a sold-out crowd of 1,100 supporters at the Fox Theatre. "If that's true, why is he peddling the same bad ideas that brought our economy to the brink of collapse?"

Liberal groups are getting even tougher: AmericansUnitedforChange.org, an activist group, this week released a list of Romney's "all time, out-of-touch, 1 percent moments" - including his plans for a new $55,000 car lift at his beachfront home in La Jolla (San Diego County).

Grassroots activists are making light of Romney's decision to hold his fundraiser at the Hillsborough estate - which once was dubbed the "haunted mansion on the hill" after a Carolands security guard was convicted of beating and stabbing two teenage girls there in 1985, one fatally.

UC Berkeley economist Allegretto said California's vast wealth - 88 of Forbes' richest 400 people live in the state - makes wealthy enclaves such as the Bay Area and Hollywood obvious venues for the relentless fundraising that is a signature of the 2012 campaigns.

"You've got to wine and dine at the same level you're expecting to get," she said.

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